


when the sun is mine

by gridgore



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: (Briefly mentioned) - Freeform, Alcohol, Banter, Claustrophobia, Dialogue Heavy, Established Relationship, F/M, Implied/Referenced Sex, Married Life, Not Beta Read, Post S-Support (Fire Emblem), Post-Canon, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Trauma, its Just banter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-21
Updated: 2021-01-21
Packaged: 2021-03-12 11:27:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,169
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28884621
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gridgore/pseuds/gridgore
Summary: He was greeted with the gentle smile of Byleth Eisner, and he met it with ease. “Good morning.” She whispered, tucking the side of her face into her pillow.He smiled, pressing the back of her hand to his lips. “Good morning.”“Do you know where you are?” She asked. It was practised- a routine for them. He knew.“I do. But remind me.” A request for reassurance, and also some indulgence. He wanted to hear her say it.She propped herself up on her elbow, duvet slipping down her chest. She tucked her hair behind her ear. “We are in Amalyra, in the kings palace. This is our room, we are wed.”
Relationships: Felix Hugo Fraldarius/Sylvain Jose Gautier Mention, My Unit | Byleth/Claude von Riegan
Comments: 6
Kudos: 64





	when the sun is mine

When Claude woke up in the morning, for a brief moment, he was surprised that he was alive. He opened his eyes to stare at his brown ceiling with the sort of confusion only deep mediative sleep can cause; the type where you find yourself losing days to its grip. He could find it in himself to blink and breathe, but feared what turning his head to look around would reveal to him.

He was grateful for the fact that it was morning. Waking up in the middle of the night, Claude found that it is very hard to understand in the darkness if you’re lying in your bedroom, or tucked into a casket, sealed with a heavy lid. He often dreams of soil.

Claude searched for something to ground him to reality, and found a hand splayed loosely over his chest. He breathed heavily, and the hand rose and fell with his lungs. Up and down. He established a physical connection like this; his breathing moved the hand therefore he had the ability to interact with a physical environment. The hand was warm, full of pumping blood, just like his. He slotted it into his own and the hand responded, squeezing tightly. 

The content hum next to his ear was the final piece of the puzzle, and he was confident when he turned his head that he knew where he was and who he was with.

He was greeted with the gentle smile of Byleth Eisner, and he met it with ease. “Good morning.” She whispered, tucking the side of her face into her pillow.

He smiled, pressing the back of her hand to his lips. “Good morning.” 

“Do you know where you are?” She asked. It was practised- a routine for them. He knew.

“I do. But remind me.” A request for reassurance, and also some indulgence. He wanted to hear her say it.

She propped herself up on her elbow, duvet slipping down her chest. She tucked her hair behind her ear. “We are in Amalyra, in the kings palace. This is our room, we are wed.”

“Just wed.” He clarified, leaning up to slowly kiss her. She breathed heavily, carding her hand through the flat hair at the back of his head. They parted with a satisfied ‘hmm’ from Byleth, and Claude released a breathy chuckle. She trailed her fingers over the nape of his neck, and the heat of his skin was positively searing. “How’s your head?”

“Pounding.” He groaned. “I forget how much I drink sometimes. It’s like I think it’s going somewhere.”

“You were quite enthusiastic.” She laughed, recalling how Claude had emptied his glass 4 times over before Byleth had finished hers once. 

“How’s yours?”

“Good. I was drinking water at the same time; dad taught me that.”

“Ugh, I could’ve used a dash of that fatherly wisdom. Remind me next time please.”

“Bread is also good for sobering you up.” She sighed, tugging at his earlobe playfully. 

“I didn’t want to be sober.”

Claude sat up, letting the bedsheets pool at his waist. He scratched at the hair on his chest, yawning. He looked around the room tiredly. “Have you seen what I’ve done with my glasses?” 

Byleth planted her head in the pillow, letting out an exhausted ‘mrph’. Her voice was muffled as she spoke. “They’re probably buried under the duvet somewhere.”

“You have a really bad habit of just flinging them in any direction, you know.” He critiqued, pulling at the covers to search. “I’d appreciate if you put them down on the nightstand or something.”

“I don’t know about you but I was a little too preoccupied to care about your glasses last night.” She huffed. “You didn’t seem to care much either.”

“It’s hard to care about anything else when I’ve got you underneath me and a full bottle of red wine pumping through my blood, but morning me would appreciate the thought.”

She laughed, kicking at him with her feet playfully. He grabbed her by the ankles and wrenched her forward, much to her delight. “C’mere you nightmare. First you lose my glasses and then you kick me?”

She laughed again. “And I’d do it a thousand times over.”

“Oh, I’ll teach you.”

Byleth was barely able to let out a yelp before Claude’s hands wiggled their way underneath her armpits, leaving her kicking at him again and laughing so hard her sides hurt. She smacked at his hands, speaking through laughter. “Stop! I’m serious!”

“You don’t sound serious, friend.”

She shrieked again and Claude relented, hands finding their way to her waist instead as he pushed her down onto the bed. “Mhm, okay, okay. I’ll let you off this one time.”

Byleth angled her head to let her husband mouth at her neck, chest still heaving. She weaved a hand through his hair and spoke gently, soft smile plastered onto her face. “I never used to laugh like that before, you know.”

“Believe me, I know.” He mumbled, kissing under her ear. “Little miss stoic at the academy. I tried so hard to make you laugh, you know. Every day.”

“I know. I laughed inside my heart.”

Claude chuckled, rising up onto his elbows. “I miss that cute little headband you used to wear. And how could I forget your dancing outfit? Zoned out in a few of your lectures because of that thing. Pretty sure we all did.”

“Yeah, I noticed that the class would get a bit distracted those days.” She considered, raising her hand to her chin. “I assumed I was just boring.”

Claude grinned wickedly, sliding his hands down her thighs and moving them apart so he could sit between them. “Far from it. I couldn’t take my eyes off you.”

She saw where this was heading and nudged his face jokingly. “Not now, I’m still tired.” Sitting up on her elbows to join him, she kissed him delicately on the nose and relished in the way he scrunched it at the contact.

“Boring.” He joked and Byleth squeezed him with her thighs tightly just to watch him wheeze. How did early mornings always turn into a wrestling match with them?

“We’ve got today free, though.” She reminded him. “We should do something, since we can’t exactly take a honeymoon.”

“Why can’t we take one?” Claude questioned mischievously. 

“I think there’s usually... planning involved. And we can’t ignore our duties after all,  _your majesty_. ” 

“We just got married Byleth, I think Almayra can survive a day with Judith at the helm instead. And I must admit that I did do some secret planning.”

She quirked an eyebrow. “You schemed us up a honeymoon?”

“Of sorts.”

“Are you going to tell me what it is?”

“Nope.”

“Then are you going to surprise me?”

“I mean, hopefully.” He kissed her cheek. “Don’t expect anything crazy, though.”

“I’m good with not-crazy.” She hummed. “I’ve had enough crazy.”

Claude chuckled and swung his legs over the side of the bed, pulling at the legs of his boxer shorts absently. “We should get ready for today then. Wear something cute?”

“No, I think I’ll wear my fishing shorts.”

Claude paled. “Please don’t wear your fishing shorts.”

Byleth hid her laugh behind her hand. “Why? They’re comfortable.”

“Byleth, my 60 year old uncle wouldn’t even be seen dead in those things. It’s got more holes than thread and more pockets than my entire wardrobe combined.”

“They’re good shorts! Would you rather I go fishing in that nice pair of tight trousers you like and make them smell all gross and fishy?”

“I mean the shorts should be limited to fishing time, Byleth, and they shouldn’t be seen outside of that activity.”

Byleth stuck her tongue out at him and moved to stand too, stretching her arms over her head. “Will you give me any clues?”

“It’s very boring and very normal.” Claude teased, stepping out of his old boxers and into a new pair. Byleth followed suit in clothing herself- fishing out clean underwear from her drawer and hooking her bra behind her back. 

“Hm. How nice should I dress?”

“However nice you want. That sundress you have would look nice, actually.” He mused, buttoning his shirt.

Byleth wandered over to their shared wardrobe, pushing the clothes aside on their hangers. “The black one?”

“You say that like your entire wardrobe isn’t black.” Byleth shot a quick glare at him over her shoulder. “No, the one with the embroidery. I think my mother bought it for you.”

“Oh, that one!” She pulled it out and held it against her body. “It’s so lovely; I still need to properly thank her for that.”

“I’m sure she knows- you wear it a lot.”

“It’s too hot here to wear anything else, honestly. Not much call for cloaks and boots in Amalyra.”

“Maybe we should get you some more breathable clothes, then?”

Byleth shot Claude another look over her shoulder as she shimmied into the sundress. “Is that an excuse to get me into something skimpy?”

“That’s your Fódlan blood talking. It’s just dressing appropriately for the weather, is all. Nothing sexy about that.”

“Oh yeah? What’s  _your_ Fódlan blood saying?” 

“That it shouldn’t be a crime to want to see my gorgeous wife in a skimpy outfit.”

Byleth barked out a laugh, fully dressed now as she walked over to him to wrap her arms around his waist. He kissed the top of her head, wrapping his arms around her likewise. “Maybe with something gold and yellow? Like my stuff?”

“You want to  match?”

“Maybe I’m still mourning the possibility of ever seeing you in a Golden Deer student uniform.”

“What, wanna play teacher-student?” She teased. “Professor Claude giving one-on-one time to his favourite house leader?”

“Eurgh.” He wrinkled his nose. “You make it sound creepy when you put it like that.”

“That’s because it is creepy!” She laughed.

“You’re one to talk!”

“Hey, I was never into you when you were a student, Mr. Ego. You weren’t exactly the paragon of maturity.”

“I was perfectly mature!”

“What about all the poisons you slipped into Sylvain’s tea that had a very unfortunate laxative effect?”

“Ah, well-“

“Poor guy! He was just being a harmless flirt.”

“Sylvain is absolutely not a harmless flirt. His flirting is a victim-filled crime.”

“Never ever took you for the jealous type.”

“I’m not usually, but Sylvain has a genius way of getting under my skin.”

Byleth laughed. “I liked his little speech at the wedding.”

“Oh goddess, don’t get me started. I love the guy but if I have to hear how ‘if things had ended up different it might’ve been me in Claude’s place’ I’ll knock his lights out.”

Byleth pulled at a lock of his brown hair. “Aw, you know he’s only kidding. Him and Felix are meant for each other; they’re really sweet.”

“Sweet and irritating. I have no idea how Felix, with his finite temperament, puts up with him.” 

“It’s always the way, isn’t it? Dad always did tell me that opposites attract. That’s why he and mum worked out, he said.”

Claude softened at the mention of her father’s marriage. He didn’t get the appeal of married life for a very very long time, but now being married himself he’d gained a soft of doting fascination with other peoples relationships. They must’ve been such a sweet, wonderful couple, based on the sappy writing plastered all over Jeralt’s diary. 

Byleth’s eyes no longer held that same pain when she spoke about her mother, and instead there rested a gentle longing in her gaze. Mourning the time missed rather than the death of the woman herself.

“What about us?”

Byleth thought for a moment. “I think that in some people, opposites help them see outside of their own mindset. Let them get a glimpse into another person’s world and expand their own. You and me though...” She prodded his chest with her finger. “I think we can see the whole world, millions of miles around us. And you were the only other person who felt like that too.”

Claude let the grin take over his face, and the feelings that blossomed in his gut were almost the same as when he saw her smile for the first time. The feeling is matured, aged and controlled, but it’s still there. It sits curled up in his open palms, free for his own inspection, rather than fighting in his stomach, scrabbling like a wild animal. 

“I think my ego is rubbing off on you.”

She laughed, and Claude is so helplessly in love. He’s long since surrendered himself to it.

“Maybe so. Now, you get dressed too. Maybe  _you_ should wear something breathable.”

“What, wanna get me into a dress?”

“I’m just saying I think you’d look wonderful in one.” 

“No. Absolutely not- never.”

Byleth feigned sadness, looking off into the distance and loosening her arms from around his waist. “Sylvain would wear a dress for me, you know.”

Evil, vile woman.


End file.
